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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. perch — the fish
  5. game — a match
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. race — humankind
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. hand — help
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. race — a contest
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. lean — to bend
  16. race — the arms race
  17. rule — government
  18. lean — thin
  19. capital — a city
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. game — wild animals
  22. capital — money
  23. rule — a law
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com